Greetings from Long Beach, CA

Welcome to the forum. I will post my thoughts on alt tunings and Irish music in a bit. But first we already have a couple threads here on the topic.

folkharmonica.freeforums.net/thread/302/favorite-irish-song?page=1

folkharmonica.freeforums.net/thread/102/irish-folk-songs

There are several pages there full of examples and discussion.

I used to play Irish music on the harmonica with a group in an Irish pub almost 20 years ago. It was a weekly session. Before that I played Irish music on the mandolin in a monthly session at a folk music store in St. Louis. Each session had a variety of instruments. However, fun as that was, I do NOT consider myself to be any kind of authority on Irish music. Just a Yank with a love of fiddle tunes. These are just my opinions and a few things I have learned from actual experts.

It is not best to use bends on the harmonica in Irish music. So the standard diatonic is sometimes modified. The best choices are Paddy Richter for first position play and Country tuned for second position play. I personally use the Melody Maker tuning for Irish music on diatonic. It is a combination of both the Paddy Richter and the Country tuned. Sometimes I also use the standard Richter diatonic. A plus to using these tunings is that they are closely related to each other so you can play other types of music on a standard Richter harp without having to make big adjustments or learning drastically new scales. You can move between these related tunings without confusion. If you go to another of the diatonic tunings you will probably have to be dedicated to it. That's just a guess. I don't play them. I like the Melody Maker, which is also a good choice for playing hymns that use an occasional accidental. The half step bends on the Melody Maker are very useful. I like hymns.

I would advise against other diatonic tunings. Irish music has a certain timing, a lilt, that is sometimes connected with the bowing of a fiddle or the push/pull of a button box (diatonic accordion) or concertina. The concertina is usually played straight (play in G on the G row) or cross row (play in G on the C row or play in D on the G row). The timing of the bellows changes on the concertina will line up with the timing of your breath changes on the harmonica. The notes on a concertina are arranged the same as a harmonica. Also, I would recommend accepting what others have discovered after years of playing. It seems that on diatonics first position (play G on a G harp) or second position (play G or G mixolydian on a C harp) works best for Irish music. Of course there are probably talented folks who play traditional Irish music wonderfully on all sorts of alternate diatonic tunings. The other reason for sticking with the tunings I suggest is that you will be able to find examples and instruction for your instrument. Pick an unusual tuning that is not often used for Irish music and you will be on your own.

So much for the humble diatonic. I have been told by Irish musicians that the most popular harmonica for playing Irish music in sessions in Ireland is the Asian tuned tremolo. This is because it has a complete major scale going all the way to the low end. It probably also sounds a bit more like a button box and perhaps the dual reeds provide a bit more volume. Microphones and amps are generally frowned on at sessions. I do know of a fellow who played in a small group and used a small battery powered amp that he would sit under his chair. I have also seen octave harps used, but most octave harps are Richter tuned so they are limited in the number of tunes they can play. Octaves give a lot of volume. The most popular tremolo harps in Ireland are the Tombo and the Suzuki. However, Seydel now has a tremolo harp that is tuned just like the Tombo or Suzuki. It is called the Skydiver. It is an excellent harmonica. I have two Skydivers and 5 Suzuki tremolos. I also have some Richter tuned tremolo harps, but they have the same missing note problem as the 10 hole diatonic.

Harmonicas are usually played one note at a time in Irish music. Adding chords and rhythm are not generally done.

Harmonicas will not be heard acoustically in a large group. I played with about 5 or 6 folks and they were aware of their volume. They were not trying to drown out the other players and so the harmonica could actually add something to the mix. Of course if you get 12 people playing fiddles and flutes and what not all at once you will not really hear anybody in particular. In a large group you can have a lot of fun and your mistakes will not be that obvious!

There is also a tradition of playing chromatics in Irish music. The slide can provide "ornaments" like the flute or whistle or fiddle players use. However, the most common ornaments go down and the slide goes up. Some have reversed the slide so the note goes down when pressed. Brendan Power is the fellow to learn from if Irish on the chromatic interests you.